Yama Rising

Qin Ye stared back at Iwasaki Kyouya with incredulity. Iwasaki Kyouya coughed dryly and kept silent.

Qin Ye immediately cursed him under his breath, “That old fox is doing all he can to salvage the reputation of Mitsubishi Corporation. After all, he’s also had a stake in the auction of the Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl from the onset. He’s offering recompense to the parties involved. And then, after I cleansed out Oda Nobunaga’s soul from the bowl, he would be able to secure it for his own benefit. Four billion might seem like a huge sum to us, but it’s really not that significant considering the wealth of the conglomerate we’re talking about.”

Qin Ye rolled his eyes, “Based solely on that statement of yours, I can already tell you’re not fit to be placed in charge of Hell’s finances. There’s nothing wrong with his statement in and of itself. But one crucial thing is missing - where’s my money?”

Ming Shiying recoiled slightly, almost as though it had just snapped out of a stupor. Then, it spat under its breath, “Wily old fox.”

“I’ll give you the opportunity to die without pain and suffering, with all of your loved ones surrounding you on your deathbed. Furthermore, I can guarantee you a smooth afterlife ahead. On top of that, I’ll send Guardian Auctions a great lot for auctions later on.”

“You are…?” Grandmaster Chu asked cautiously.

Yet, almost without consideration, Grandmaster Chu shook his head and maintained, “No way.”

His breaths grew shallow, and he turned to stare at Iwasaki Kyouya with bloodshot eyes, “You’ll be able to placate the Nipponese commercial circles with a simple token gesture or two. But are you really able to appease all of the aggrieved Cathayan tycoons? Guardian Auctions is still going to be operating out of Cathayan soil! How are we supposed to continue running our auction house if you capitulate on your earlier promises now?”

He quickly arrived before Grandmaster Chu. And then, he suddenly froze in place.

A gun’s barrel was pointed straight towards Grandmaster Chu’s finger.

His own gun.

Nobody had expected Grandmaster Chu to take such drastic measures.

Not even Iwasaki Kyouya himself had expected Grandmaster Chu to be able to threaten everyone else this way. With a livid expression on his face, he shook his head, “No. This is fail proof technology that employs the latest, cutting-edge technology developed by Nippon. In fact, this security box isn’t even in circulation right now, and it wouldn’t have been used if not at my behest.”

Just like pirates on the internet.

“Three!”

“Two!!”

Grandmaster Chu paused.

Grandmaster Chu gazed deeply at everyone around. And then, after a long time, finally responded with great trembling.

“Three Hellguards, one Hunter, and the contemporary head of the Mitsubishi Corporation. Do you really think we stand to gain anything by lying to you?” Dojin’s chest undulated with every heave of breath he took. Then, he barked furiously, “Have you ever thought about the number of close shaves with death you’ve had ever since taking possession of this damned bowl?! If not for the soul of Oda Nobunaga, do you think three Hellguards have nothing better to do than to pit themselves in a competition of wealth against the head of a global conglomerate?! Do you think we really want to be here listening to you farting through your lips?!”

Grandmaster Chu drew several deep breaths and shut his eyes.

“No.” Iwasaki Kyouya whispered, “His emotions are currently incredibly unstable. If you provoke him any further, he will most certainly fire his gun, regardless of what the consequences may be. Furthermore, as long as the X-magic box isn’t opened once every five days, it will automatically assume that its owner is dead. Once the self-destruct sequence is activated, its contents within would forever be lost.”

Tell me, do you have nothing better to do with your lives? Why the hell did you think to invent something with such perverse security measures?!

“Don’t be insolent!” True energy erupted from Jingo’s body! But just as the shockwave of energy flared up, a gunshot reverberated through the cargo hold simultaneously. Everything quietened down immediately, and even Jingo sensibly withdrew his explosion of energy.

Ruthless… Grandmaster Chu had blown a hole through the heart of his palm right in front of everyone’s eyes. He revealed a manic smile on his face. Fresh blood poured out of the grisly hole in his palm, and yet his hand remained completely still, almost as though he knew no pain.

He panted as he continued, “Furthermore, it will execute any of my standing orders as soon as it detects danger, even if I don’t feel threatened myself. My last standing order to it was to cripple my left hand as soon as anyone makes the slightest movements. You might all be stronger than me, but I’m afraid I’m quicker than you when it comes to suicide. This is an added security measure on my part. Do you really want to force a junior to a point of no return, huh? Cough… cough…”

Qin Ye gnashed his teeth. To think that such variables would suddenly arise when the Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl was right in front of his eyes!

Qin Ye snorted and walked out of the cargo hold without turning back.

It’s just that the risk of their potential losses far outweighed the odds of success.

Iwasaki Kyouya didn’t leave immediately. It was only when everyone else had departed from the room that he finally locked eyes with Grandmaster Chu, “Cutting off your own path of retreat is never a good practice, especially when you’re confronting an adversary who commands an overwhelming disparity in strength. Until you learn to let go, Guardian Auctions isn’t going to go far. That’s all I’ve got to say. Heed my words.”

The cargo hold was finally silent once again. The barrel of the gun was still pressed firmly against his own thumb, and Grandmaster Chu continued to remain in place like a petrified statue for an inordinate amount of time, fighting hard against the pain from his wounds and the light-headedness from blood loss. It wasn’t until everyone else guarding the cargo hold arose that he finally slumped back down to the ground, completely drained of energy.

“What’s going on?” “What happened?” “Good! Check the goods!”

“Prepare for the auction immediately.” Grandmaster Chu gave him a completely unexpected response.

“My instructions are to stop the cruise liner! And we’ll conduct the auctions tomorrow! Which part of that didn’t you understand?!” Grandmaster Chu bellowed back, heaving and panting heavily as though it had taken all of his strength to do so.

“But, what about you?”

“Additionally, I want you to immediately notify all tycoons on board that due to unforeseen circumstances, we’ll be conducting the auctions the day after tomorrow, regardless of whether the other guests can make it on board the cruise liner in time or not. These auctions are for a national treasure, so I’m sure our guests would be able to understand. Finally, inform Master Kamo that if any of them spreads any word about what just happened prior to the commencement of the auctions, they can forget about opening the X-magic box altogether.”

With that, he immediately left with his team, leaving Grandmaster Chu and a few of his cronies remaining in the cargo hold. He looked at the black box, and then suddenly laughed maniacally.

It’s no wonder so many peculiar things have been happening since then.

He didn’t need to consider his response. He knew the categorical answer deep in his heart.

After all, just how many tycoons were there in attendance for the upcoming auctions? Could Guardian Auctions truly compensate each and every single one of them for wasting their precious time?

“Heh, heh, heh…” He leaned back into his chair and stared squarely at the box as he chuckled softly to himself, almost as though he were whimpering in misery.